Hello, darlings! đŠ°â¨ Itâs Emma here, back with another installment of your favourite weekly ballet tutu history fix! Have you put your pink tutu on yet? I hope you have! Thereâs nothing quite like a splash of pink to brighten up your Tuesday, especially with a beautiful tutu fluttering around your legs.
Today we're venturing back in time, specifically to 7th January 1997, right smack bang in the midst of the 90s fashion scene! Oh my goodness, the clothes, the music! But don't worry, my lovelies, weâll be sticking to our ballet tutus for this trip, and boy, are we in for a treat!
Iâve just got back from the most glorious train journey. I do love a good train ride. The rhythm of the tracks and the ever-changing landscape out of the window...pure magic! It inspires my soul to create, especially when it comes to putting together my #TutuTuesday posts for you lovely lot.
You wouldnât believe what happened today! I just popped into Harrods in London. Talk about a fashion lover's paradise, darling! There I was, admiring a magnificent crystal chandelier when I saw the most dazzling tutu ever. It had rows and rows of iridescent feathers, each catching the light, swirling like a miniature rainbow. And the colours! Just think, dear reader, a mixture of lavender, turquoise, and rose-gold! I had to try it on. My friends told me that in London theyâll always give you a change room and say, âGo for it.â They were so right. Honestly, I think I was in that room for at least an hour, twirling in the most fantastical tutu ever, my pink tulle one tucked away for once, almost forgotten! What I wouldnât do for that tutu. What will happen to that glorious creation, I wonder? Is it on stage tonight in some glittering performance? Maybe even at the Royal Opera House? Perhaps it's a costume for some famous ballerina! How incredible would it be to grace the stage wearing a tutu like that? Ah well, one can dream!
And talking about dreams! Remember âThe Nutcrackerâ?! Well, darling, on this very day, 7th January 1997, the Royal Ballet had its opening night for their version. Imagine the splendour of that event! The glistening stage lights, the breathtaking costumes, the graceful movement! And those tutus...oh, theyâre works of art in themselves! And of course, I saw it. The performance was nothing short of magic. There were so many beautiful tutus; it was absolutely overwhelming, just as it should be. Just seeing the sheer amount of preparation and effort behind creating and performing it took me right back to the very first ballet I saw. I can still hear the sound of those beautiful, soft, graceful steps on stage, hear the beautiful music.
The tutu we know and love today, dear readers, has gone through a fascinating journey! It has evolved so much from those early, more simple, âdancing skirtsâ in the early days of ballet.
We know those first tutus were born in the 1700s in France with a focus on simple forms. Think more about lightness, about dancing, than a complex design with frills. It wasn't until the Romantic ballet period that those tutus really blossomed! Youâve got to thank the Romantics for adding layered fabric, the beautiful fluffy, delicate layers that became the âclassicalâ look of tutus, as they started to use a lot of tutus in the late 1800s, right through to the 1900s, right here, and all over the world. The Victorian Era gave the tutu its more recognizable look of a short, skirt with layers and layers of tulle and net. But then it wasnât all smooth sailing. There were more daring, experimental tutus being designed around that time â long tutus, full-length tutus. It was quite exciting, you see? It wasnât all white either. All those Victorian ballets were full of colours and patterns, and oh! My absolute favourites are the beautiful embroidery and intricate beading.
Think about a âSwan Lakeâ, ladies. Theyâre some of the most striking and elegant tutus ever designed. There were, and are, those graceful, elegant, âswanâ costumes that move as if on a feather. Youâll see in this performance the beauty and simplicity of white â those dazzling white, elegant, pure tutus, flowing through the movement and expressing so many different stories!
But wait! Remember, that wasn't all there was! You see, as we get closer to the 1990s, tutus go through even more changes. Just look back and think how much dance has been shaped by the styles of contemporary ballet and modern dance. We've seen new designs, using other fabrics. Remember how we loved those stretchy tutus and body-hugging forms from the 1980s. As we progressed further through the 1990s, even with some great examples from famous choreographers, you know we began to move away from the "traditional", and those classic shapes. Those styles that started to take hold gave way to more contemporary tutus.
That tutu I saw in Harrods this morning - what was that all about? - is an absolute dream of a tutu! That's exactly what my 1997 self was thinking too. Remember, we still needed a good ballet story for this, my #TutuTuesday. My trip through time doesnât stop at fashion â I get to put on a show. So I get on that train from Derbyshire to London - just to see it, try it on. And there I am back in 1997.
Back to this beautiful, dreamy day â January 7th, 1997 â with that gorgeous, dazzling Harrods tutu experience, that trip to the âThe Nutcrackerâ opening at the Royal Opera House â there you have it - this incredible journey, with the help of the power of imagination. And now weâve found the heart of this special #TutuTuesday journey to tell the story of how we made this tutu journey happen!
As always, I encourage you to explore further! Dive into the world of ballet history - discover, delve into the captivating journey the tutu has taken â the inspiration from dancers, designers and choreographers, all creating magic with every performance!
Oh, and darling - don't forget! Wear your pink tutus. Embrace those swirls and twirls! They will bring out the ballerina in all of us.
See you next week, lovely! đ
